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Ugh, was reading through that article and it's just awful. No care at all about whether there was actual consent - only about whether they can say there was.

Not wanting to further traumatize E.M. by having her to testify AGAIN, they choose to move forward with just the judge. One more note: The Star revealed the FIRST mistrial was declared after a juror said Dunning (one of the lawyers mentioned today in the note) spoke to her during a break. (6/6)

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The Crown asked if the jury could questioned about still being impartial. But the judge said no, saying it would be difficult without asking the jurors to reveal their opinion of the lawyers. That left the Crown with 2 options: 1) Proceed with just the judge 2) Start over with a new jury (5/6)

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The Crown asked to continue with the jury since their case was ending and was built to present in front of a jury, not a judge. They also pointed out the defense would then get to present to the judge which, they said, "is a very different situation than presenting evidence to a jury." (4/6)

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What this means for the trial: It will continue on, decided by the judge alone. The defense wasn't comfortable moving forward with the jury, saying the note "will attach to everyone on this side of the courtroom" and that it left a 'chilling effect' on the defense's ability to proceed. (3/6)

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The Star, as well as Rick Westhead from TSN, reports this stems from a note the judge had received from one juror, saying "multiple jury members feel we are being judged and made fun of" by two lawyers, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding, who were represnting Alex Formenton. (2/6)

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WOW! So MAJOR update regarding the Hockey Canada trial: The jury has been DISCHARGED! Toronto Star is reporting the judge declared that the trial's fairness had been compromised and the jury had to be discharged. (1/6)

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Heh, I actually wrote this last night initially - just learned now myself about the discharge. TSN has stated the trial will proceed by judge alone!

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But they didn't specifically ask about Dube and Foote, so he didn't say anything. Then, something happened the lawyers needed to discuss and the jury was sent home so the judge could take time to clear things up with them. So, hopefully things pick back up on schedule tomorrow morning. (11/11)

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He said Dube and Foote phoned him, telling him 'just say what you saw', while leaving out what they both did - reassuring him that they'd 'go in and explain it themselves'. Steenbergen testified that he had decided he WOULD tell investigators what he saw IF they specifically asked. (10/11)

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3) Jake Bean's statement is just awful because the 'nothing bad would happen' part obviously refers to nothing bad happening TO THEM. To 'cover themself'. There's no consideration for her at all. It's all about how to make sure THEY don't get in trouble. Anyways, back to Steenbergen: (9/11)

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Why make the video if he didn't know why he was doing it? If he really didn't know, it'll be good to for him to testify about what led him to do so. (I assume he'll be testifying). Otherwise, seems like he wanted to come up with a reason that would *sound* good when asked about it. (8/11)

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Not to mention - if you're THAT uncertain about someone's consent that you need record it, you should just...not do what you were going to do! It's that simple! 2) The fact that McLeod had to ASK THE OTHER GUYS about what to say regarding his motive for recording the video? (7/11)

1) Consent videos seem pointless. Consent isn't just about explicitly stating 'yes' or 'no' - it's about implicitly understanding you're free to make that choice. A consent video only reveals an explicit statement - it says nothing about the surrounding circumstances. (6/11)

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At one point in the group chat, McLeod asked the group what to say if he was questioned by authorities about why he recorded the consent video. Jake Bean told him "Because you wanted to make sure nothing bad would happen. And cover yourself.” So 3 things here: (5/11)

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They also repeatedly brought up the consent video that Michael McLeod filmed with her after - stating they would just show it to investigators when asked about what happened, and that it would make things 'fine'. (4/11)

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There reassuranced each other repeatedly that they 'did nothing wrong'. Dillon Dube started with “There are no criminal charges it’s hockey Canada code of conduct and they are investigating on what happened that night so it won’t happen again.” (3/11)

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Keep in mind, there are 5 people on trial - but ELEVEN guys in the group chat. ELEVEN guys who where there. ELEVEN guys who saw what was going on. ELEVEN guys who could have done something. ELEVEN guys ONE girl In the chat, there were discussions about whether they'd get in trouble. (2/11)

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Hockey Canada trial update: Tyler Steenbergen continued his testimony from yesterday, mostly about the group chat. The chat was started a week after what transpired, and was started by Dillon Dube, who added everyone that was in that room to discuss the night's events. (1/11) 🧵

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Heads down. Going about our lives as if things are 'fine'. Ignoring the slow crush of fascism trying to gain a stranglehold on our lives. I'm not judging anyone for doing so - but we'll never get anywhere that way either.

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Watching Rogue One again. One thing hit me: Jyn, while still ambivalent towards the rebellion, is asked if she could stand having the Imperial flag reign across the galaxy. She says "It's not a problem if you don't look up." I feel that's where many of us are at right now.

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"No" means "no" and ANYONE who really cares about you will respect that. Also, I'm sorry I haven't posted on BlueSky much for a while, been more focused on Threads. But, I'm trying to post more news stories and commentary, and Threads is *awful* for that with how it throttles links.

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Mapping Canada’s PFAS hotspots | CBC News

In 2024, Health Canada updated the 'acceptable' level of PFAs in Canada's drinking water. It's hoped Federal and Provincial authorities start enforcing that soon but, in the meantime, CBC published an amazing interactive map, detailing the PFAS 'hotspots' in our nation.

newsinteractives.cbc.ca

Invisible, toxic and slow to break down — forever chemicals are contaminating our water and food. Here’s what we know about forever chemical hotspots in Canada.

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If you've seen the movie Dark Waters (and I highly recommend it), you know about PFAS - 'forever chemicals' that don't break down - used in a variety of products for decades that have contaminated waters around the world.

Dan Robson @danrobson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Reposted by Croc Monk

Katie Strang joined Frontburner to chat with @jaymepoisson.bsky.social about the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial — and the wider context in which it is taking place. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/f...

podcasts.apple.com

The latest in the hockey sex assault trial

Podcast Episode · Front Burner · 2025-05-15 · 26m

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Then we could work towards cultivating an environment where they feel comfortable and free to give enthusiastic consent. Hell, I'm guessing they'd probably enjoy it more too 😉 (10/10)

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And you might say "Well, how are they to know when she doesn't say anything?" Well, maybe if more of us guys actually LISTENED to women and CARED about how they feel, we would UNDERSTAND what it's like from their persepctive! (9/10)

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I believe what she says - I've heard this kind of story many times from women. Hell, I've been in situations like this myself! These men have the power here, which means they have the responsibility to ensure she's entirely comfortable with what's going on. Quite obviously, they did not. (8/10)

Many of them cultural and/or situational. Many we might not even be able to understand or vocalize in the moment, not until we realize long after. Which brings me back to the case. E.M.'s situation is one where she's quite vulnerable - no support, unfamiliar environment, unfamiliar people. (7/10)

Giving consent isn't just about EXPLICITLY saying 'yes' or 'no' - it's also IMPLICITLY understanding that you're free to MAKE that choice. And...there's a lot to unpack when it comes to the various ways that we can feel we aren't 'free' to make that choice. (6/10)

- Specific and needed for every activity Just because you consent to one thing doesn't mean you consent to another. - Informed No lies, tricks, or manipulation between invdividuals. Why I state this is: (5/10)

First, a quick lesson on consent in Canadian law! Consent is only meaningful if it's: - Given freely and enthusiastically Being pressured or coerced into doing something is not consent. - Ongoing You can change your mind at anytime. Ongoing consent means ongoing communication. (4/10)

E.M. also explained why it might have seemed that she was 'ok' with what was going on. That she felt pressured to act in a way that might have appeared she was consenting, but only due to the vulnerable situation she was thrown into without consent. To me, THIS is the crux of this case. (3/10)

Finishing off today, first, the crown attorney clarified E.M.'s position on using the word 'men' instead of 'boys' (I STILL can't believe that line of defense was allowed to be used 🙄) Trigger Warning: No graphic details, but situational descriptions that might be triggering (2/10)

Croc Monk @crocmonk.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

Hockey Canada trial update: After 9 grueling days, E.M. is finally done with her testimony. Though doing so from another room, via CCTV, I can't imagine how hard it was to talk about what she went through AND go through FIVE different cross-examinations (one for each player on trial)! (1/10) 🧵

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Yeah, it's hard to see it any other way. This doesn't really do anything to help stem the tide of fascism, which is what they really need to focus on.

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Croc Monk @crocmonk.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

This kind of legislation has been asked for and needed for decades. I get it, you could use the old saying "The second best time to do something is now" but, it's not like this hasn't been tried before. If Sandy Hook wasn't enough, what's changed since then that could make it work now?